Forget Myself
by K-Caedmon
Summary: Susan is reunited with Officer Faith Yokas as she and her family are rushed into the ER. Story complete.
1. Afternoon Turns To Evening

****

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Chapter One: Afternoon Turns To Evening

Friday 4:45 PM

"How long did Luka say he was going to be? Susan asked.

"He didn't say." Jerry replied.

"There goes my evening." Susan complained as she wiped another patient's name off of the board.

"Hot date?" Haleh asked.

"Oh yeah, some take out, a hot bath and The Breakfast Club." Susan sarcastically replied as she grabbed a chart and headed towards exam three.

The day had been long and crazy. Susan's shift started at eight, and the gang-bangers started rolling in half an hour later. Followed by the food poisoning at a Young At Heart meeting. Thirty five senior citizens total came in between one and two in the afternoon. Needless to say the day had been a little more stressful and hectic than usual. Susan ran seven of the eleven traumas they had received in the last nine hours. Not to mention the exhausting task of caring for lonely elderly people. Hopefully Luka wouldn't be long. Hopefully Luka would show up. Susan inhaled a deep breathe as she reached the door of exam three.

"Mr. Palatino what seems to be the problem?" She asked as she sat down the chart and put on a pair of gloves.

"I have a headache." He replied. "From the worms."

Clearing her throat. "The worms?" She asked.

"Yes," Abby replied, "some worms crawled into his head last night."

"I can't get them out, and they are starting to get hungry." He said matter of fact.

"Right, well I'm sure we can take care of those for you." Susan said, throwing a glance at Abby. Who returned it with a tell me about it look of her own.

"How did you cut your head sir?" Susan asked as she lifted a bandage to see the wound.

"I had to try to get the worms out." He simply stated.

"Ok, I'll be right back to suture your head, and take care of those worms." She warmly said as she tore off the gloves and motioned for Abby to follow her outside.

"Lets get a tox screen, chem7, and a blood gas. Call psych, and put Mr. Palatino is soft restraints. By the time psych gets down here we'll have him sutured and have his labs back."

"You got it. I thought Luka was on tonight?"

"Me too." Susan retorted as she began to walk down the hall.

****

Friday 6:23 PM

"Glad you could make it." Susan yelled as Luka entered the ER.

"Glad to be here." He replied as he entered the lounge. Susan was ready and waiting for him when he reemerged with his stethoscope and coat. 

"Thanks for covering Susan."

"You owe me one." She stated.

"I figured that."

"Ok, In curtain area one we've got…"

"You sure are in a hurry. Hot date?" He coyly asked.

"Of course…Ok not really, but I've spent enough of my day here." She said innocently.

"Okay, curtain area one."

"Yes, there is…"

*County, come in County.*

Susan sighed as Luka walked over and answered the radio.

*This is county go ahead dispatch.*

*We've got a 17 car pile up. As of now there's 11 critical and 27 minors. What can you handle?*

Luka looks at the board and then looks at Susan.

*We can take 5 critical and 11 minor*

*Copy that county. ETA starts at five minutes. Dispatch over and out.*

It was only a second until Susan's instincts took over as the staff gathered around the admit desk. 

"Ok, Haleh prep trauma one and two. Jerry, Chen and Pratt are in the cafeteria, page them as well as sugery. Gallant you take two of the residents and run one of the traumas. Abby your with them. Luka, Chen, Pratt and I will run the other four. Haleh, Malik, Chuny, and whoever else is on spread out. Wait, Chuny you and one of the residents triage. Then find a trauma." 

Silence filled the room, and Susan took a deep breathe. "Ok, Lets go to work." 

Author's note: The title comes from the Third Eye Blind song "Forget Myself."


	2. One Trauma Later

****

Disclaimer: I don't own ER. Yes it is disappointing.

Chapter Two: A Trauma Later

6:37 Pm

The sound of sirens slowly began to get louder as the ambulances grew closer to the ER. The staff stood outside in uneasy anticipation. It had been a long day and the end seemed no where in sight. Susan stretched her neck to the left and then right, exhaled and shut her eyes. Focus had always been her strong suit. When it came to crunch time she put it into gear, no matter what. For a second her mind pondered the possibility of this being the cause of the fact that her life revolved around the ER. That was for another time and place, the ambulances were pulling in now.

"What do we got?" She asked as she helped wheel the gurney into the ER towards trauma 2.

"Approximately eleven year old boy. Hypotensive, LOC, broken ribs and left wrist." The paramedic replied quickly and efficiently.

"Ok, on my count. One, two, three. Diminished breathe sounds on the right, sounds like blood in the lung. He needs to be intubated , and he needs a chest tube. Lets get CBC, Chem7, blood gas, chest film, portable ultrasound, and call surgery. Uh, hey resident?"

"It's Joey." He nervously replied.

"Joey, ever intubated someone before?"

"I've been talked through it once."

"Good, because we're a little short on help right now and you're going to intubate him right now. Haleh, I need that chest tube kit too."

"Ok, I can do it." he stated, mostly to himself.

"I know you can Joey. Lets put in…Damn it we've lost his BP. Haleh page surgery again, and lets get a portable ultrasound in here five minutes ago, where the hell is this bleeding from? Damn, it's his heart, the broken ribs, it's got to be his heart. Lets get that chest x-ray before the ultrasound."

"Here's the chest tube kit, I'm hanging another four units of O Neg." Haleh stated as she left the room for the portable x-ray.

"I'm in." Joey said with a sigh.

"Hold on kid. Chest tube is in. Where's Corday?"

"Dr. Corday is next door." Resident Joey announced.

"Ok, why don't you go get her." Susan asked as she continued to 

"Ready for the chest x-ray." Haleh said as she set it up. "Shooting."

"What do we got?" Dr. Corday asked as she tore off her gloves and dawned new ones.

"Eleven year old boy, unconscious, hypotensive, he's internally bleeding. We're waiting on the chest x-rays. He has broken ribs, they probably punctured the heart. Intubated and we put in a chest tube in the right side."

"Here's the x-rays." Haleh said as she placed them on the light.

" The fractured rib punctured the Pericardium, causing a Pulmonary Edema. We need to open him up." Elizabeth said as she gabbed a scalpel and began to cut. "Rib spreaders." 

"Here." Susan handed them to her.

"Damn it. The rib passed through the Pericardium and entered the Aorta. Suction."

****

Forty Five Minutes Later

"Ok, lets get him up to surgery while he's stable." Corday ordered as Resident Joey and Haleh began to wheel the gurney towards the elevator.

"Good work Elizabeth." Susan exasperatedly stated. "I wasn't sure if he was going to make it."

"I don't know how he did, but we aren't out of the woods yet." She replied as she began to head towards the elevators herself.

"Page me when you're finished." Susan asked.

"It'll be five hours, at the soonest." Corday turned to reply.

"I'll be here."

"Ok." Corday replied as she jogged to catch up to the elevator.

"I'm on tomorrow morning anyway." Susan replied as she walked towards the admit desk to see how many patients were left from the accident.

"What's left?" She asked Gallant who was sipping a cup of coffee. 

"The last trauma went up to surgery right after your kid. And I think all but two of the minor injuries are waiting to be seen." 

"Well, glad to see there's plenty for me to do." She replied as she grabbed the first chart sitting there and matched the name Grendon to exam room one. 

"Is he going to make it?" Gallant asked.

"Who?" Susan asked. "Oh, the boy." She said almost embarrassedly. "I don't know. It's pretty bad. Where's Pratt and Chen?"

"Chen is changing clothes, and Pratt went up to CT with a patient."

"Ok, I'll be in exam one if anybody needs me." She stated and began walking down the hall again.

The hall ways were crowded, and there were multiple gurneys parked in various parts of the hallways. Susan was in a tunnel and her only destination was exam one. Her mind rationalized the reality of her Friday night. If we can clear the majority of these patients I can grab some sleep in an empty room, ok the lounge. Four hours if I'm lucky. Damn car accident. 

"Doctor?" A man firmly but politely stated, bringing Susan back to the hospital hallway she was walking down. 

She stopped and turned to face the man. "Yes sir?" 

"They won't tell me about my wife or children. We were in the pile up." He calmly but worriedly stated.

He continued to speak about the injuries, their ages, and how long they had been here. Susan's mind was devising a plan on how to find the nearest resident or nurse who could help this man. That is until he said a word that stopped every thought going on in her mind. She froze. Did she hear him correctly.

"Excuse what's your name?"

"Fred Yokas, and I'm looking for my son Charlie, my daughter Emily, and my wife Faith."

Susan's head began to spin. What was the name of the boy she had worked on? How were they in Chicago? How the hell? 

"Yokas?" She said out loud, causing the man to look at her a little funny. "Is your wife officer Yokas?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my god." She leaned against the wall.

"What?" He said alarmed.

"She found my… I'll find them right now. I'll be right back." Susan hastily said before walking, and then running towards the admit desk. 

****

Author's Note: Now that you all know it is the Yokas family, this takes place a couple of years after Faith is shot, and she fully recovered. 


	3. Between the Emotion and the Response

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Disclaimer: I don't own ER or any characters from Third Watch. Resident Joey, however, is mine. 

Chapter Three: Between the Emotion and the Response

Friday 8:33 PM

There she stood, right outside the room that Officer Faith Yokas was in. It was a blur how she had gotten there. Susan could remember returning to the admit desk, locating the whereabouts of the Yokas family, and then she ended up staring into the room. Should she go in? How could she tell her? She should go get Mr. Yokas. Yes, that was the first thing she should do. Walking back to the hallway where Fred Yokas was located was easy enough, facing the questions that were waiting for her would not be.

"Mr. Yokas." Susan politely stated as she rounded the corner into the hallway.

"Yes?" He asked, moving his eyes from the IV in his wrist to Susan's face.

"I've found your wife, and I can take you to her." She said with more composer than her first encounter with the man.

"Please, and what about my kids?" 

"I can tell you about them as well, but I'd rather wait and talk to the both of you at the same time." She replied as she helped him out of the gurney, and towards his wife's room. 

The briefest of moments pasted as Susan began to open the door into the room that held Faith Yokas, and a surge of nervousness ran through her body causing her to feel a chill.

"Faith. Are you ok?" Fred blurted out as he entered the room. He quickly walked to the side of her bed, wheeling his IV stand beside him.

"I'm ok Fred. What about the kids?" She replied as she grazed her hand along the side of his face. 

"Your legs? I mean the bullet? It's ok?" He persistently asked.

Susan remained close to the door as she watched them try to regain their bearings on the situation.

"The doctor said it was fine. The seatbelt didn't hurt anything. What about the kids Fred?" She asked more forcefully.

"The doctor was going to tell me when we got here." He stated, the statement returned his thoughts to the fact that the doctor had yet to tell them. He turned his body towards the door, as Faith glanced over to the doctor standing by it.

"Dr. Lewis?" She said in astonishment.

"Yep, it's me." Was all Susan could say, and once the words left her mouth she knew how moronic they sounded. "I work here at County." That wasn't much better.

Faith didn't reply, not that Susan thought there was really anything to say, so she broke the silence with the news they were waiting for.

"Your kids." She stated.

"Where are they?" Faith asked.

"Emily is upstairs, they are running some tests. She banged her head pretty bad, and they want to make sure there isn't any swelling or brain damage. I talked to the doctor who is treating her, Dr. Pratt, and he can't confirm it until the test come back but he thinks everything should be fine. Doctor Pratt should be in shortly to talk to you himself." Susan took a deep breath. 

"And Charlie? What about our son?" Fred asked.

"I was your son's doctor when he first came in." She paused for a moment. "He came in with low blood pressure, which told us he was bleeding internally. Charlie had several broken ribs. One of which pierced his Pericardium, that is the sac around his heart." She paused again.

"Is he ok?" Fred asked, choking back the panic that was running through him.

"We lost his blood pressure completely, and had to open his chest in the ER. Dr. Corday was the ER surgeon on call. We discovered that the rib had passed through the sac around his heart and pierced his Aorta." She took a deep breath and pushed the emotions back. "We were able to stabilize him, after almost an hour in the ER, Dr. Corday took him directly to surgery where they will try to repair the damage to his heart."

"Try?" Faith reiterated.

"Yes, Charlie had significant damage. He's only been in surgery for about an hour, so I don't know anything more."

"When will they…Will he…" Neither parent could finish a sentence and both were overcome by the heart wrenching news.

Susan pulled up the stool that was pushed against the wall. She sat down in front of them, looked them in the eye, and reassured them to the best of her ability.

"I can tell you that your son has the best surgeons available working on him. They will exhaust every means possible before giving up. Charlie has a good chance." Anything more would have been a lie, and there was no way Susan could bring herself to lie, the truth was hard enough.

"What do we do now?" Faith asked.

"Well, you are both being observed in the ER right now, that is just a precaution. Whenever you get discharged I can take you upstairs to the surgery floor." 

"Can we…"

Susan interrupted Fred, "I will make sure Charlie gets the best room available, and I will have them set up an extra cot or two. I can also keep you updated on his surgery."

"Thank you Dr. Lewis." Faith replied sincerely.

"Just let me know if you need anything. I mean anything at all."

"How did we not know about this until now?" Fred asked.

"We got slammed with the pile up. Nearly twenty patients came rolling in at once, five of which were traumas, or severe life threatening injuries. We're still scrambling to catch our balance."

"Still, I mean we didn't even know." He replied.

"I know, and I apologize. When things get like this communication usually breaks down. There is just too many injured people to see. There is no time to put last names together. That's what happened."

"We understand, really. Right Fred?" faith asked.

"It's ok, I understand. I would be pissed myself." Susan interjected.

"Really Doctor Lewis, thank you." Fred emotionally stated.

"It's no problem, really. If you need me just find a nurse and they can page me."

"Thank you." They again stated.

"I just…" Susan didn't know how to finish the sentence. "I'll just go see about his room and getting you discharged." Susan stated as she turned and walked towards the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

After exiting the room she turned to look in once more. They were hugging and it looked as though they were both crying. A sense of helplessness and failure came over Susan. Never before had being a doctor seemed so futile.

Susan walked down the hallway feeling as though she had stepped into an alternate reality. Faith Yokas had saved her niece's life, and now her son was fighting for his and it seemed as though there was nothing she could do. 

****

Friday 11:47 PM

After locating Luka she managed to get Fred and Faith discharged, from there she took them to the surgery waiting room. Within an hour they had a private room for Charlie ready, for when he was released from the ICU. She had Emily moved to a private room in Neuro, she would be discharged first thing tomorrow. 

All the ducks had been lined up into a row. Every arrangement made, every favor promised. After updating them that the surgical team continued to repair the damage to their son's heart, she got them both a cup of coffee. Susan found it inappropriate to wait with the Yokas', instead she would update them every hour, or when news became available. In the mean time she wandered back down to the ER. 

She had been there for almost fourteen hours now, and somehow she was still managing to be semi productive. A 72 year old woman, Eloise Barrington, came in with respiratory distress. 

Two x-rays later she was diagnosed with Pneumonia. Then Susan's beeper went off. Weaver took over Ms. Barrington's care as Susan returned to surgery. She hadn't expected them to be done so soon.

"Susan." Was the first thing she heard as she exited the elevator.

"Elizabeth, I didn't expect you to be done so soon." She replied as she walked over to Elizabeth.

"Neither did I. I thought the parents would want you here when I told them." She explained.

"Told them?" Susan stated.

"Told them that there Son was recovering, and that the surgery successfully repaired the damage to his heart."

Susan sighed and then hugged Elizabeth. "I didn't know you were that close with the family."

"It's an odd story. Officer Yokas, Faith Yokas, was one of the officers who found Susie."

"Oh, I see. Well, shall we then?" Elizabeth replied.

"Before we do…" Susan said, grabbing Elizabeth's arm. "Doctor to Doctor, what are his chances at a full recovery? He lost a lot of blood, and we both know how long his brain could have been deprived of…"

Elizabeth stopped her. "Susan."

****

Author's note: This chapter got a little long. The title for chapter three comes from T.S. Eliot's poem "Hollow Men."


	4. Rest For The Weary?

****

Disclaimer: I do not own any ER or Third Watch characters. 

Chapter Four: Rest For The Weary?

Saturday 12:32 AM

"So he will be unconscious for how long?" Faith asked.

"There is no definite time span, I would say the better part of the next twelve hours." Dr. Corday responded.

"And what if after twelve hours he's still…unconscious?" Fred asked.

"Then it could just take him longer to come out from under the effects of the anesthesia, or…" Elizabeth paused, searching for the right words, "or it could mean that the injuries Charlie sustained impacted his brain function."

Faith started to cry, and Fred wrapped his arm around her moving her into his shoulder. Susan stood there, there was nothing she could say or do to help. She glanced at Elizabeth.

"Mr. And Mrs. Yokas, I assure you that we should wait and cross that bridge if we come to it. You have every reason to hope that he will recover just fine."

"Hope." Faith stated. "Hope, that's it. That's all you can promise us."

"I'm afraid so ma'am. I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't think he would pull through." Dr. Corday added.

"Hope is enough Faith." Fred added.

She turned her face towards his, and grabbed his hand. He kissed her forehead and stood up.

"I'm going to check on Emily and tell her about Charlie." He stated.

"I'll be right there, ok Fred?" Faith added.

"OK."

"When can we see him?" Faith asked Dr. Corday.

"Tomorrow morning at the earliest, depending on how he is recovering." She answered. "If you don't have anymore questions…" 

"Oh no, thank you so much Dr. Corday." Faith whole-heartily stated. "I can't tell you how grateful we are."

"Thank you, but your son did the hard part, he's quite strong."

"If you only knew him." Faith stated with a grin. 

"Yes well, I will see you tomorrow then." Dr. Corday said to Faith and Susan as she turned and headed towards the doctor's lounge.

"Night Elizabeth." Susan said as she watched her walk down the hall.

It was the first time Susan and Faith had been alone. Not knowing what to do or say they sat down in the chairs. After a moment Faith broke the silence.

"Do you think he'll be ok?" She asked, looking for a true answer from Susan.

"I think he's got the best chance there is. We caught the bleeding quickly, we got him to surgery as soon as he was stable. Dr. Corday is pretty straight forward. If she says the surgery went well, then it did." She replied.

"I never expected I'd see you again, at least not under these circumstances." Susan said, breaking the silence that filled the end of her previous statement.

"tell me about it." Faith replied.

"If I had known he was your son I would have found you sooner. I would have..." She said quickly, letting the words pour out as she felt them, although unable to finish the statement.

"You couldn't have known, and I couldn't have asked you to do anything more." Faith stated, placing her hand on Susan's shoulder. "Thank you." 

"You don't owe me a thank you." Susan said embarrassedly. 

"I better get up to see Emily." Faith stated.

"Yeah, she's probably wondering where you are." Susan stated.

"I'll see you?" Faith asked.

"Tomorrow, but if you need anything just go down to the ER, they can find me."

"Ok," Faith nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow."

Susan slowly walked back to the ER, she found Luka sitting at the admit desk. He was reading a magazine. 

"You look busy." She stated, almost startling him.

"You're still here?" He asked.

"I just got down from surgery." She stated, stretching her back.

"You've been here since, what eight this morning?" He questioned.

"That sounds about right." She replied.

"Heading home?" He asked.

"I'm suppose to be on at seven, so I think I'm just going to take an empty room."

"There aren't any." He added.

"Figures. Ok then, I'll be in the lounge."

"Night." he said with a smile.

"I'm putting a sign on the door."

"Ok." He replied returning to his magazine.

"And if Faith or Fred Yokas comes down here looking for me wake me up." She added.

"Sure thing." He stated, not really paying attention.

"I'll put it on the sign."

"Okeedokee."

"Yeah."

Susan put her sign up and headed into the lounge. The clock said one fifteen, possible two. She wasn't entirely sure, and she didn't have energy to check. Luckily there had been quite a breeze yesterday morning. Causing Susan to wear a jacket, and now allowing her to have a blanket. After trying to get comfortable for what seemed like forever, she finally found a position that seemed to be slightly less discomforting than the others. Within twenty minutes she drifted into the uneasy yet wonderful sleep that comes from sleeping in the ER in between shifts.

****

Saturday 5:47 AM

"What?" Susan abruptly asked as she was jolted back to consciousness by a loud noise.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I just came in for a cup of coffee." The voice said.

"Who is that?" She asked, sitting up on the leather couch. 

"Joey." The voice unsurely stated.

"Resident Joey?" She asked.

"Well yeah, but you can just call me Joey." He said.

"I think we'll stick with Resident Joey. It has a ring to it."

"Umm, ok." He replied.

"I'm up now. So pour me a cup of coffee." She stated as she stood up and stretched her still tired body.

"Sure." He replied.

"Is it busy yet?" She asked.

"Actually it isn't." He responded as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"It's Sunday right?" 

"Yeah." He replied a little taken by the fact she wasn't sure.

"It'll get busy."

"How do you know?" 

"It's the Sabbath." She said with a chuckle.


	5. Jedi's and Trekie's

****

Disclaimer: I do not own any ER or Third Watch characters. 

Chapter Five: Jedi's and Trekies

Saturday 3:45 PM

"I don't give a damn." Susan said as she walked away from the admit desk.

"Where are you going?" Weaver asked.

"I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Breaks are still allowed aren't they?" She snapped back as she kept heading towards the elevators.

"Yeah." Weaver replied as she turned and moved in the opposite direction.

It was a near perfect day. There were white fluffy clouds dotting the sky, and a cool breeze filled the air. It was the first time since Friday morning Susan had been outside. She loved the roof, as did most of the ER staff. Being above the streets, the people, it gives a sense of abstractness. That's what she loved. When things get unbearable the roof can make them seem bearable. Puts you back in your place. Despite its usual calming effect Susan was fighting back the urge to hurl her stethoscope over the edge of the roof. She was certain it would fulfill what the roof seemed to be lacking. 

"Don't do it." Luka said taking Susan by surprise.

"Hey, I didn't hear you come up." She said, turning to face him. "What are you doing here?"

" I figured that I would come and see how you are doing." He replied as he leaned against the edge of the building.

"I'm a little tired." She said with a laugh.

"That seems like an understatement. I saw your conversation with Kerry." He stated.

"Oh yeah. She such a…"

"dedicated. She's very dedicated." Luka interjected finishing her statement.

"Dedicated huh, why not?" 

"You didn't answer my question." He stated.

"What question?" She asked as she leaned against the wall next to him.

"How are you?" He reiterated.

"I believe I did answer that question."

"If you don't want to talk about it it's ok."

"I don't really know how I am. I haven't exactly had time to process it all."

"I understand." Luka replied. "When I was in Croatia, a few years before the war, my wife and I were driving home and I swerved to miss a goat. I missed the goat, but hit a wall instead."

"Were you guys ok?" Susan asked, her interest peaked. 

"My leg was broken, and Daniella had a concussion. It was past midnight and this farmer, the owner of the wall, came out. He carried us into his home and put us in his bed. In the morning he drove us to the local hospital."

"Nice guy." Susan added.

"During the war he was wounded. He wasn't in the army, but he somehow got in the cross fire. He was shot in the leg, and had what you call…shrapnel."

"Did you help him?" She asked, trying to spur his story along.

"I tried. I managed to control the bleeding, and I got him to the nearest medical tent. I wanted so badly to save his life, to repay what he had done."

"He didn't make it?"

"No, he lasted a little less than a day." 

"You did everything you could. I'm sure he knew that." Susan said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"I know I did, it took me a while to realize that I didn't let him down. That I did repay what he did for us."

"I can imagine."

"Susan, you did everything you could for their son."

"I know." She replied, standing up.

"Do you? You say you do, but I don't think so." He replied.

"And how would you know?" She asked.

"Well, you spend two hours getting them the best room and help them with everything. You sleep in the lounge, so you can be here if anything happens. You've called surgery every two hours to ask about his condition. That sounds like someone who is still trying to pay a debt."

"It's a theory at best." She replied with a smile.

"Susan, you've gone above and beyond what any descent human being would do."

"You don't understand. It's not over until Charlie wakes up. Susie came home, and in one piece. I need Charlie to be ok."

"You can't promise that, no one can. What if Susie hadn't been found and everything wasn't ok? Would you have thought that Faith Yokas did her job any less?" He asked as he moved in front of her.

"No, of course not. The outcome of a situation like that doesn't reflect the effort." She replied, and then sighed. "Point taken Luka."

"Ok then, I'm sure Weaver is ready and waiting for your return."

"Waiting to bludgeon me with her cane." She sarcastically replied as the walked towards the stairs.

"How is Julian?" Susan asked as she pressed the elevator button.

"She is angry with me." 

"You should buy her something." Susan replied as they got onto the elevator.

"You don't even know what happened." He defensively replied.

"I don't need to. You should apologize and buy her something nice."

"You really don't want to know what happened before you say what you think?" He asked as the elevator doors shut.

The noise of the ER filtered through the elevator shaft, Luka and Susan could hear the commotion before the doors even opened.

"What the hell is going on?" Susan asked.

"You leave for a few minutes and see what happens." Luka said laughing.

The doors opened and the ER was in an uproar. Luka and Susan quickly made there way to the admit desk where Randi had a crutch and was using it to keep the outraged patients at bay.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it." She wittily stated.

"What is happening?" Luka yelled.

"I don't really understand it myself. Apparently there was a Star Wars convention, and by coincidence next door was a Star Trek convention. Come to find out the two groups don't really get along."

"How did they end up brawling in the ER?" Susan asked.

"They brought in a about nine of these freaks with injuries from the first fight. One thing led to the next, and before you know there were reinforcements. Security should have it under control." 

As Randi was finishing her informative speech a man dressed as what seemed to be an Ewok ran by yelling "Beam This Scotty!" as he chased a man in a Star Trek costume. 

"They'll have this cleared up in no time." Susan sarcastically retorted.

"Isn't that the Yokas girl." Luka asked as he pointed to the young woman huddled in a corner across the room.

"Yeah it is." Susan replied. "Emily!" She didn't hear her. "Emily!" The girl started to look around. Susan waved her hands in the air until Emily saw her. Susan motioned that she was going to get her. With a quick look at the galactic battles going on around them Susan quickly moved across the room.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"This is crazy." Emily responded.

"This is actually a calmer day." Susan said with a smile. "Ok, we're going to go back behind that desk. On the count of three. One, two, go!" Susan yelled. 

They were almost to the admit desk when Susan felt another body change her trajectory. She turned her head to see a woman, with what looked to be Honey Buns on her ears, side swiping her.

"Mother…" Susan yelled.

"Damn Trekies!" The woman yelled.

With a quick jab, and a move Susan learned in a class, she had managed to throw the woman off of her. Suddenly a fist came from the left and nailed her in the eye.

"Shit! I'm a damn doctor!" She yelled as she fought the other woman off of her. Finally she mad it back to the safety of the admit desk. Luka, Emily, and Randi were all laughing when she returned. 

"You got beat up by a Star Trek fan." Randi chuckled.

"I took care of Princess Leia though. Man, that one had a stiff right hook though." Susan laughed as she touched her face. "Are you ok Emily?" She asked as she returned her attention to Emily.

"I'm fine. I'm sure my parents are freaking, but I'm good." She replied. 

"What are you doing down here?" Luka asked.

"I was suppose to come find Dr. Lewis." She replied.

"Is everything ok?" Susan asked.

"Everything is great. Charlie woke up about an hour ago."

"That's wonderful." Susan replied as she hugged Emily and Luka. Even Randi showed a sign humanity by giving Susan a warm squeeze on the shoulder.

"As soon as this dies down we'll go up." Susan stated.

"This is crazy." Emily once again stated.

"Yeah, it's a galaxy far, far, away." Susan added.

****

Author's note: I don't own any Star Wars or Star Trek character either. Although I really think them fighting is humorous. Enjoy!


	6. One Too Many Emergencies Past Formalitie...

****

Disclaimer: I do not own any ER or Third Watch characters.

Chapter Six: One Too Many Emergencies Past Formalities

Saturday 4:51 PM

Emily began to chuckle as the image of Susan being knocked to the ground by a woman dressed as Princess Leia filled her mind. 

"Laugh it up." Susan said. 

"It's very funny." Emily replied. 

"It is." Susan said as she began to laugh, and then gently touch her left cheek and eye. "How worried do you think your parents are?" 

"They're probably pretty freaked." Emily replied. "They're pretty protective." 

"That's a good thing." Susan replied. "Even if you can't see it right now."

"I know, I mean they do it because they love me. I can deal with it."

"You have a much better attitude about it than I did when I was your age." 

"Thanks." Emily said with a chuckle.

"Was it really that funny?" Susan asked.

"You should have seen your face, and then your yelling. It was great." 

The elevator doors opened, and faith was sitting in the chairs parallel to them.

"Emily, are you alright?" She asked as she met them at the edge of the elevator.

"I'm fine mom." She replied.

"They told us there was a riot in the ER." Faith stated.

"It was great mom. When Susan saw me she ran over and on our way back to the doctor's desk this woman blindsided her. Then she got decked by this other woman dressed in a Star Trek costume." Emily blurted out.

"Uh huh." Faith said with a confused look.

"It wasn't that dangerous really." Susan added.

"Nice Shiner." Faith retorted.

"Yeah, it's from a trekie." Susan added.

"Oh." Faith replied. "In the midst of all this excitement did Emily tell you Charlie woke up?" 

"Yes, and I am so happy for you." Susan said as she hugged Faith.

"Fred is in there with him now. He's still pretty groggy, but the doctors say that it's normal."

"It is." Susan replied. 

"You can see him if you want." Faith said.

"I'd love to." Susan replied.

They walked down the hallway for a moment until they came to his room. Faith slowly opened the door. Fred was sitting by a Charlie's bed in a chair.

"Are you ok?" Fred asked Emily.

"It was awesome Dad. There were people running around and yelling. Dr. Lewis got beat up, and…"

"Her first riot was a blast hon." Faith interjected.

The sounds of new voices in the room woke Charlie from his light slumber.

"Mom." He groggily stated.

"Hey baby." She replied as she moved to his bed side. "There is someone here to see you. Dr. Lewis from down in the ER."

"Hey Charlie." Susan stated as she stood beside Faith. "How are you feeling?"

"Ok. Kinda tired." He replied.

"Yeah. I'm glad to see your doing well, you gave us a bit of a scare downstairs." 

Charlie smiled. 

"All the doctors and nurses in the ER are going to be happy to hear your ok."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied, squeezing his hand. "Well, I'm suppose to be downstairs helping the galaxy return to order. I'll come back by before I leave though. Bye Charlie." She stated with a wink at Charlie.

She patted Emily, who was still quietly chuckling, on the back before exiting the room.

"Susan, wait." Faith quietly yelled as Susan was walking down the hallway.

"Yeah." She replied turning around.

"I just wanted to say thanks." Faith stated.

"It was nothing." Susan replied.

"For everything. You've been way to kind." Faith explained.

"Did they say when they would release him?" Susan asked as she nodded to Charlie's room.

"Three or four days." Faith replied.

"What were you in Chicago for anyway?" Susan asked, surprised that it took two days to ask the question.

"We came to see the Knicks play the Bulls." She replied. "Fred's birthday."

"Who won?"

"Bulls, by 12." Faith replied.

"Ah. Well, I have to get to work. But I'll come by before I leave." Susan added.

"See you then." Faith replied.

The ER was full of patients. Luka had been suckered into staying, and Jing-Mei, Gallant, Pratt, and Weaver were all hard at work. Susan approached the admit desk when Luka had just walked up.

"I'm leaving in an hour. I don't care about anything you might say. I'm leaving!" She stated before he could open his mouth.

"How was Charlie?" He asked.

"Oh, Charlie is good. He'll be released in three or four days." She stated.

"That's good. Where are they staying?" Luka asked. "I mean now that they know what they are looking at."

"I'm a shit." Susan stated.

"Really?" Luka stated.

"Yes." Susan stated.

"You are aren't you." Luka said as he walked away.

"You'll pay for that." Susan yelled in his direction.

How could I have been so dumb, Susan thought. They're going to be in town for almost a week. They can't stay here. Not all three of them, not comfortably. 

Weaver walked up as Susan was standing there in her thoughts. "I didn't realize you were still here Susan." Weaver stated, snapping her back to reality.

"I just got back from seeing Charlie Yokas." She explained.

"I heard he woke up. I'm happy for you." Weaver added.

"Yeah it's a relief. How are our galactic patients?" Susan asked.

"They're all in restraints." Weaver said with a smile. "You should go home Susan."

"I'm off in an forty five minutes." Susan replied

"Luka is here. In fact I think he stayed so you could go. So go, you haven't been home in close to forty eight hours."

"Ok. Thanks Kerry." Susan stated as she headed for the lounge. As her mind processed the thought of going home and taking a hot bath, and sleeping in her own bed, her body caught up with last two days. Sheer exhaustion set into Susan's body. The kind that makes you get done with whatever is left to do in a hurry. 

Susan quickly opened her locker and grabbed her coat and purse. Within minutes she was back, walking down the hallway to Charlie's door.

"Knock knock." She stated as she opened the door slowly. 

"Hey Dr. Lewis, back so soon?" Emily stated. 

"How's it going?" Susan asked. There was the other bed in the room that Emily was laying on, and the nurses had brought in another cot. Looking at this Susan knew she needed to convince Faith.

"Charlie is just happy there is a TV in his room." Faith added.

"Can I talk to you a minute?" Susan asked.

"Yeah sure." Faith said as the two women moved outside the hospital room.

"I can't believe I didn't ask this before. I blame it on sleep deprivation, but you guys are going to be in town for a while. You're going to be here most of the time, so it doesn't make sense to get a hotel room. So I want you guys to stay at my apartment. In fact I insist. Before you say anything let me finish. I have a guest bedroom, plenty of room, food, and a hot shower."

"Susan, we couldn't." Faith stated.

"You should. You all can't sleep in that room. And I eat in this cafeteria too often, one meal a day here is enough. I have a spare key you can have. You can come and go as you guys need."

"I don't know, I mean that's asking a lot of you. We couldn't."

"I insist." Susan firmly stated. 

"Susan…" faith said.

"I think we're one too many emergencies past formalities. I want to do this Faith." Susan argued.

"I think we are too. Your sure this ok?" Faith asked.

"I'm positive." Susan replied. 

"I guess we'll take you up on the offer then." Faith said. "Let me tell Fred and Emily, and grab the bags."

"Ok." Susan stated, pleased that Faith agreed to take her up on the offer. In truth they were one too many emergencies past formalities. Hell, when Susan thought about it she realized they had bonded. Their lives connected by the way they had been impacted by one another. The ordeals they had been through were situations that rocked people to their cores. They've come out, not unscathed, but in one piece. Strengthened by what has not killed them, and emerged as friends. At least in Susan's mind.

"Ready?" Faith asked as she and Emily emerged from the hospital room.

"Yeah." Susan replied as she smiled. "Fred staying with Charlie tonight?" 

"Yeah. Susan, thanks again. I mean this is…"

"Hey, what are friends for?" Susan added as Faith was finishing her statement.

"How's your niece?" Faith asked as Susan pressed the elevator button.

"Good. They are living in a town in Kansas now."

"That's good. A lot of tornados though." Faith said.

"That's what I said, but they have a cellar." Susan added as the elevator door opened and they got on.

"That's good." Faith replied as the elevator door shut.

****

One Month Later

"Morning Susan." Luka said with a smile.

"Morning Luka. Good to see you here on time." 

"There is a first time for everything." 

"I guess so." Susan replied as she opened her locker and began to put her things away.

"Have you talked to Faith lately? How's Charlie?" He asked.

"Impaled twenty four year old rolling in." Chuny stated as she popped her head into the lounge.

"They're good. Charlie is back to normal." Susan added.

"Want to guess what he's impaled with?" Luka asked as Susan shut her locker.

"Twenty bucks says it's something metal." 

"Too broad, take a real guess." He stated as they exited the lounge and headed to the ambulance bay.

~THE END~


End file.
